Heron Blue
by EternalVoid
Summary: Naruto hears singing in his dreams, who could it be?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

A low humming is all he could hear inside of the blackness that had once again claimed his mind.

Dreamless sleep was not unusual to him, safe from the nightmares that haunted his waking hours when left alone to his own devices. However this darkness was not the same as those times, it felt safe, like pulling a thick blanket over his head to hide from the monsters that existed all around him every day.

This time was different though. He focused his mind and pushed through the thick darkness, what had once been a haven when he was younger now stifled him most nights, and as always he found himself inside of a large sewer pipe. The air was thick with the smell of death and decay; a graveyard could not have been stiller than this place as far as he was concerned.

The only sounds were of that distant humming, and drop of water striking the water's surface rhythmically, as though in time to his heart beats. However it was the many smaller pipes that caught his attention, each and every one glowing a fierce blue as they disappeared into the darkness behind him and on to wherever they went to.

He stepped forwards and listened to the sound of his footstep echo through the empty hallway. He took a breath before answering the singing with something of his own making.

"_Her room is painted Heron Blue_

_Lit by candlelight and chandelier_

_And from her headboard perched so high_

_A million dreams have passed her"_

He heard a soft gasp in reply, the song finally breaking as he began to slowly walk forwards to the source of that constant song that he had heard throughout his entire life. His footsteps echoed loudly, but still his voice overcame those echoes and resonated around and through the hallway, lending the air a break from its deathly stillness.

"_Don't cry my love don't cry no more_

_It overwhelms my breaking heart_

_A minor swell of violins_

_I cannot bear to hear them"_

He carried on moving as finally the end began to come into sight. The pipes now were interwoven with one another, criss-crossing here and there as orange and blue mixed together into a sickly purple that slowly faded back into the vibrant blue that rushed through the pipes that were now almost humming in resonance to his song.

"_Don't sing that old sad hymn no more_

_It resonates inside my soul_

_It haunts me in my waking dream_

_I cannot bear to hear it"_

He sang as he approached the massive cage that appeared before him out of the darkness; massive golden bars reaching up to the roof of the hallway that ended where this massive construct began. A single small piece of paper lay over the centre where the two doors met one another. Inside a figure could only barely be seen, a single, lone figure, like a lost soul in a graveyard where the living no longer bothered to pay their respects.

He approached closer, still singing, and the figure seemed to slump as though defeated, though even at this distance he could make out her figure in the kimono that she was wearing. He touched the gates as he uttered the last verse of his song

"_Don't play those violins no more_

_Their melancholic overtones_

_They echo off the floor and walls_

_I cannot bear to hear them"_

He finished singing as the woman turned to regard him with deep red eyes, the colour of arterial blood that has been freshly spilled; they shone in the faint light of the pipes, dancing colours in those orbs that shifted from that deep red to a light ruby and back again as she shifted slightly.

"Hello Kyubi" he whispered to her and her body shook with a great sob as the name echoed off of the walls and floor, disappearing into the darkness behind her.

Her kimono, as she stepped into the light, was heron blue.

Chapter One

"Hello Naruto"

"It has been a long time"

"It has"

Naruto stood watching as she walked up to the bars and knelt down before them, eyes hidden by her black hair that spilled down to hide her eyes and face. He touched the bars and said nothing for a time.

The silence was back, oppressive and ominous, as though holding its breath for something devastating to occur within this construct of his mind.

A true representation of me, he thought ruthfully as he noticed the oppressive air. Its stillness an odd contrast to the liquid rushing through the pipes around them, not that they added any noise to the silence that had engulfed them in its thick embrace. Naruto sighed and sat down in the water, noticing how it failed to dampen his clothes at all, as fake and dreamlike as the rest of this place where both his curse and blessing resided.

"That was…" the Kyubi said once the silenced had stretched, she paused and then continued "beautiful. How did you know?" she asked and Naruto chuckled softly, voiced coloured with a vague amusement

"I remember our last meeting, all those years ago" he told her and she looked down once again, apparently unable to hold his gaze for an extended period of time as he watched her so closely. Seeing how she shifting uncomfortably and kept her gaze wandering everywhere but him.

"Thank you" she replied and Naruto smiled softly

"I think I should be thanking you, for everything that you have done to keep me sane throughout all this" he said and she nodded stiffly

"You're welcome" she said and Naruto sighed slightly

"Your guilt…its haunts me" Naruto said and Kyubi flinched slightly

"I know" she replied and Naruto leant forwards

"Then stop dwelling on it. You have done everything you can to make it up to me, that is all that I care about. I have already forgiven you" he said and she nodded, body trembling as she fought off another wave of sobs

"W-what about the others?" she asked and he sighed once again, leaning back on his hands he regarded her for a moment

"They are human, but so am I. I am allowed to hold a grudge against them, you have done what you can to fix the problem you created, they have not" he told her and she nodded, taking a deep breath before looking up at him.

He wondered what she saw, looking into his crystal blue eyes and beyond the hard outer layer, pressured by years of cruel abuse, and into the shimmering insides that revealed all to those who cared to look deep enough into his soul.

"I have not done everything" she said clearly and he shrugged his shoulders, rolling them as he felt his muscles ripple as he moved.

"Is that so?" he asked her with interest and she nodded

"I have one more gift I could grant you" she said and he looked at her for a moment

"Is it a contract?" he asked and she blinked in surprise before nodding. He nodded to himself and looked down into the waters while she sat silently, waiting for his decision.

He had met the Kyubi for the first time when he was six years of age, having been viciously beaten by a drunken mob of civilians, the Anbu having arrived too late; once again, to do anything more than run clean-up and make sure he wasn't injured any more than he already was. He had found her and they had spoken. Since that day she had sung in his mind, her grief haunted his waking hours but it helped him to sleep with the other demons that lay under the surface of his mind, waiting to claw their way back out into his conscious mind and ravage his thoughts and feelings.

"I'll take whatever I can get" Naruto responded at length "but this'll be the last gift from you" he told her and she nodded, shoulders losing their tension as relief filled her expression, causing Naruto to sigh to himself as he watched her form something out of pure chakra.

"Here it is" she said as she passed it to him through the bars, he was slightly surprised that the seal allowed it to pass through into his hands, but he decided not to dwell on it. The realm of seals and various dimensions left him a little lost, such as how signing something in the deeper recesses of his mind could allow a physical change to take place.

"Hmm" Naruto muttered as he unfolded it and read through the tiny list of names on the parchment

"Three others?" he asked her and she nodded

"We foxes are rather picky about who we choose to allow to summon us, the last candidate died almost a hundred years ago now" she told him and Naruto nodded

"Well then, I just hope your various relations won't mind me then" he said and she nodded

"They shouldn't do, what with you containing me and all, but" she shrugged "some of them can be...stubborn at the best of times" she told him and Naruto nodded

"Fair enough" he muttered as he finished signing off the contract, watching as it dissolved into black ink and crawl onto his left arm

"Since there's no physical sealing scroll left in the 'real' world, I need to forge it on your flesh" Kyubi explained and Naruto raised an eyebrow as he watched the ink form strangely beautiful patterns on his flesh, almost like something tribal.

"Is that all there is?" Naruto asked once it had finished covering up his left arm

"That should be all, though you might want to summon someone soon, so they don't get agitated with you" Kyubi said and Naruto chuckled

"Well now, this is quite the gift" he said as he flexed his hand and turned it over, seeing the symbol for 'seal' imprinted on his palm in ink and seemed to be tinged red in the faint light from the pipes all around them.

"Like it?" Kyubi asked almost shyly and Naruto chuckled softly

"It's very nice" he told her and she smiled brightly as he stood and stretched

"Are you leaving?" she asked and Naruto looked down at her, still kneeling in front of the bars where he himself had been sitting moments before.

"I need to wake up at some point" he told her and she blushed slightly

"I know that" she responded while pouting slightly "but, will you...come back?" she asked while looking down at the lap, fingers rubbing together anxiously while Naruto knelt back down and took one of her hands in his

"I will" he told her as he kissed one of her knuckles before standing and moving to leave this place. He turned around once to see her watching him before he closed his eyes and allowed dreamless sleep to once again claim him and bringing him away from this place.

He awoke to light pouring in through his tattered curtains. He groaned as he sat up and swung his legs off of the bed before taking a look around the place he called home for the moment.

Above him more windows allowed light to pour in from the early morning sun, spilling honey coloured light into his apartment and lending it a warmth that rarely dwelt there. The wooden boards that made up the floor were no longer covered by a carpet, though a large rub covered the centre of the room, its once blood red colour having now faded to a greyish red. A desk sat off against one wall while on the opposite wall sat shelves filled with various bits and pieces of junk that all held some kind of purpose that only Naruto could guess.

He stood up, feeling the cool wood beneath his feet, and crossed to what passed for a kitchen in this small place, the whole thing being just one fairly small room in an apartment that was had been passed up for demolition several times now. He started the gas burner that sat on top of the non-functional gas stove, pulling a plate from one of the above head cupboards as he set about making himself something somewhat decent to eat.

As that was going he crossed to his bathroom of cracked tiles and a shower that only produced hot water for five minute bursts, not that it bothered him that much anymore.

He walked over to the mirror and rubbed the stubble on his face as he looked at the fairly rugged face that was staring back at him, looking like it belonged on the face of a soldier more than a sixteen year old boy. He traced one of the very faint whisker marks on his face and wondered if it was Kyubi's doing as well, making them fade slowly from view.

He then stepped back to take a look at the arm that was now covered in tribal like tattoos that hid a rather special thing from view, by hiding it in plain sight; a summoning contract, impossible to recreate or transfer to another medium so long as one original still remains in existence. He could recall reading about many seal masters that had tried and failed to understand the true nature of such contracts. Even the seal of his stomach was not fully understood, not even by the man who made use of it.

It was a special type of seal, created during the Dark Ages of man, when the ten tailed beast had wandered unchallenged through the world, sowing darkness and despair wherever it went; a very powerful seal, practically unbreakable by anything other than a seal of the same design.

He sighed and rubbed his face, washing it before returning to eat his meal and get dressed.

He shrugged on his black jacket and dark jeans along with the tight climbers shoes that he had purchased from one of the shops that hadn't been trying to make his life a living hell that particular day.

He tore off the sleeves to reveal the sealing array now written onto the flesh on his left arm, without a shirt underneath he sighed as he sat down, turning a fan on as he sat against the rear wall and ate while listening to the radio talk crap about the weather and sales going on in the town that day. It only took five minutes before he kicked it, causing it to fall and the areal to snap off, so that now all there was, was static pointlessly crackling away until he finished and turned the damnable thing off.

He chucked the plate into the sink and pulled his long hair back into a rough ponytail before he stepped out of his room into the blazing sun.

He pulled his jackets hood over his head and started walking. Ignoring the looks and whispers, the sneers and snarls, as he walked through the street towards the outer edges of the town, not missing how more than one person moved out of his way as he moved along with his face wreathed in shadow from his hood, and body moving along like a predator.

He eventually made it to his usual training ground. Noticing that no one else was there he sighed in relief as he put down his hood and began to stretch in preparation for what was to come next.

He could never hold down a job, and had even dropped out of the civilian academy due to the hatred many of the teachers and students felt towards him. It was more the teachers than the students. He couldn't really blame them; after all it is human nature to seek culpability in a time of tragedy. And since the Kyubi could no longer be harmed, it fell to the sacrifice to bear the weight of the hatred that people inevitably felt for the lives and livelihoods that had been lost during the attack.

Many would call this fate. But it is a sign of strength, to cry out against fate, rather than to bow one's head and succumb as so many others fail to do. He had felt deep hatred for those around him, though he was careful never to fear them more that necessary, to fear them any further would have been redundant, but with that hatred he fostered it into purpose and chose to further rule his own fate by becoming something that they would in turn be forced to fear.

He finished stretching and instead began to move through the motions of various styles of fighting that he had studied and sought to learn. Moving slowly at first, but gradually growing faster and faster as he moved through each of them one by one until he was almost a blur as he allowed instinct to take over and move his body as it saw fit, becoming a passenger in a body controlled by something he had created, but had now become greater than its creator.

He stopped suddenly as someone stepped into the training grounds. He turned to find her watching him with an amazed expression, even as he allowed himself to relax, although his eyes still flickered around as he tried to sense anyone else hiding in the trees around him. He had never been ambushed here, and he wasn't about to start now.

"That was amazing" the girl said rather loudly.

Naruto looked at her, allowing his eyes to quickly flick over her as he tried to place her name.

She was wearing a pink sleeveless blouse and dark green trousers that clung slightly to her contours. Her hazel brown eyes stuck to his and he could not help but notice the twin buns on her head that her hair was piled in to.

"Thank you" Naruto replied after a few moments of tense silence, at least for him.

"Are you like that all the time?" she asked and he stood up straighter, allowing his muscles to relax as he realised that she had indeed come here alone. But paranoia, especially when for a good reason, makes everything a threat until proven otherwise.

"I usually practise here at this time everyday" he told her and she nodded, looking impressed

"You're not a ninja are you?" she asked as Naruto wiped some sweat from his brow

"No" he replied as she began to stretch

"Why does a civilian need to be that strong?" she asked and Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly

"I'm certain you can guess. I cannot be unknown to you" he replied and the girl nodded

"Uzumaki Naruto" she replied and Naruto sighed while cracking his neck

"And you are Tenten" he replied and she gaped at him

"How did you...?"

"I look and I listen" he interrupted her "it comes with the territory, anyone and everyone is a potential enemy as far as I'm concerned" he told her and she nodded, looking down for a moment

"That's a nice tattoo" she then said as she raised her eyes and noticed it.

Naruto flexed his arm as he also studied the lines and swirls painted onto his flesh

"It is" he agreed as he turned his attention back to her

"Did you get it recently?" she asked and he nodded

"Yesterday night actually, I thought it would go well with my image" he replied and she nodded

"It does" she told him and he chuckled softly

"Is that so?" he asked as he sat down on a fallen tree trunk on the edge of the clearing "and why are you talking to me, Tenten-san?" he asked her and she looked away

"I just wanted to" she replied, sniffing a little as though put out by his question. Naruto sighed to himself as he watched her.

"You know what I mean Tenten-san. You must have heard the stories and the warnings that all the parents tell their children, so the question is, why would you bother trying to speak to me?" he asked her again and she looked at him

"Because I didn't believe them" she said and Naruto smirked while shaking his head slightly

"Very well, I can see your every bit as stubborn as I've been led to believe" he said and Tenten turned her head again for a moment before facing him once more

"Why'd you stop?" she then asked and Naruto chuckled

"Well you are nosy" he said and she stared at him "very well, paranoia is an art I have perfected somewhat. I am...uneasy when someone else is around me" he told her and she looked away from his eyes again and he sighed

"Then would you like me to?" she asked and he looked at her

"Well it beats sitting here for the moment" he replied and she nodded while pulling out several types of weapons from the pouches on her belt. She took aim at an imaginary target before letting fly.

Naruto watched her closely as she continued to do so, even throwing a sword at the target. Naruto waited until she was finished before clapping slightly

"Very impressive" he said with admiration in his voice, watching as Tenten blushed slightly at the praise

"Thanks" she muttered and Naruto stood up

"However" he started as he took one of her weapons and took aim "you rush too much when trying to strike at the targets" he told her as he took several more out of the weapons "also your motion are jerky and waste energy" he said and she watched him as he took position.

He calmed his breathing before starting. His arms moved fluidly as he blended each action into the next, almost like a deadly dance, as he allowed a few moments to get his bearings to hit the targets.

He stopped and faced Tenten who was looking at him, mouth open in absolute astonishment

"How did you do that?" she asked as Naruto sat back down on the log

"A lot of practice. All I'm trying to say is that it's all well and good that you can release a lot of weapons at the same time, but it will all be for naught if you cannot hit any of your targets with them" he explained and Tenten nodded before smiling

"I'm glad I talked to you now" she said and Naruto blinked before laughing.

"Thank you Tenten-san" he replied

"What're you doing for the rest of the day Naruto-san?" she asked and Naruto shrugged

"I'll practice for as long as I can, but then I've got things to do in my apartment" he told her and she looked thoughtful for a moment

"Can I visit?" she asked and Naruto looked at her long and hard before shrugging

"If you want to. But I'll warn you now, it has definitely seen better days" he told her and she shrugged

"I've probably seen worse" she replied and he sighed heavily

"I'm sure you have Tenten-san. However I believe it's almost time for you to be getting to school now" he said while looking at the sun even as she glanced at her watch and cursed

"Damn it, I'll see you later Naruto-san" she called out as she ran off.

Naruto waved after all for a few moments before sighing and sitting back down.

He wondered about just what he was getting himself into with her. He was a lone wolf, someone who needed nothing from anyone, something of a requirement if you were to survive long enough in the kind of life he had ended up with, thanks to one man's implacable stupidity. Still, from what he knew of Tenten there should not be any problems. She was as stubborn as could be and was damn right vicious if pushed too far by someone. So that should never become a problem for him.

Still, he wondered about whether or not letting her in would be a bad thing. He was still human after all, and it was all well and good talking to the voices in your head, but that tended to make people believe that you were rather crazy and should be avoided whatever happened. Not that he could blame them for thinking that.

His whole life he had struggled against many unmoveable forces that had sort to define and shape him in one way or another, everything from a living weapon to something that should be killed at the nearest possible opportunity, something that had been attempted more than once without the Hokage knowing about what was going on.

The Hokage was someone Naruto could certainly do without. He had sought to turn Naruto into little more than a weapon, with subtle cohesion and lies until he was shaped into just the right shape for that mans needs. With a moral compass as skewed as any of the other weapons that man had at his disposal. Naruto had resisted from day one however, it is difficult to lie to someone who has seen all of mans wanton cruelty and lived through it all, tempered at hard as carbon steel.

So he had not bended the way that man had wished him to. Soon after that their 'relationship', if that is how it could be defined, disintegrated and the old man began to leave him alone to his own devices at long last. He still visited, still tried to force him into becoming something that he had no interest in becoming. There was, after all, no glory in being something that exists only in the dark and has a reputation for murdering entire families, including their own.

There was no honour to be found in murdering one's own, even for the sake of power; even if he had no one to call kin.

"Naruto" someone called out and he turned to come face to face with the very man who had just been plaguing his thoughts

"Hokage" he grunted in return as he stopped moving through his dance/practice and gathered up his jacket once again

"Please" the old man said "don't stop on my account"

He was wearing the official uniform of his office, as always, which consisted of a red kimono over which sat the white cloak upon the back of which the kanji for 'fire' sat. His dark eyes were sharp like an obsidian blade and it always felt like he could pierce through into your very soul if he looked for long enough. Three lines under each eye and a goatee completed the image, along with his spiky grey hair.

"I was finished anyway" Naruto told the man as he glanced around in case anyone had come with the man. Although he doubted that even he would be able to locate any of the Anbu perched in the trees around the clearing, there to mostly make sure he couldn't get away and that no one would interrupt the Hokage while he 'spoke' with him.

"I'm sure" the old man said with a small smile, though Naruto didn't miss the flash of irritation that passed through the man's eyes, such was the effects of the eyes, the windows into the soul.

"What did you come here for?" Naruto asked although he could already guess

"To ask you why you're not in the academy" he replied and Naruto turned to face him, locking eyes with a man that had cowed Anbu simply by looking at them. For all his age had perhaps dulled his skills his mind remained as sharp as ever, and he certainly was not above intimidating people to get what he needed out of them.

"I have answered this before" Naruto replied and the Hokage's eyes narrowed slightly

"Then answer it again" he said and Naruto narrowed his own eyes, seeing the glacial orbs reflected in the obsidian of the old mans, like clear blue ice that obscured what lay beneath the surface.

"I am not there because there is bias in the way the teachers teach me, and the children have been brainwashed by their parents to hate me. That is all." he replied simply and the Hokage nodded

"The same as always" he muttered as Naruto put his jacket back on and turned to leave

"And what of that tattoo on your arm?" he asked and Naruto turned to face him

"A gift from a friend" he replied and the man's eyes narrowed

"Really?" he asked and Naruto scoffed

"I'm leaving. Save your questions for someone who cares to answer them" he said and strode off, aware of the ninja's in the trees watching him as he moved out of the clearing and back into the town and to his apartment.

He walked back into his home, tossing his jacket away as he rubbed his face, feeling the stubble as he stripped and walked into the shower, feeling the lukewarm water cascade down across his body as he washed away both the sweat and the distaste he felt at meeting that accursed man one again.

Scrubbing at his hair as he stepped out after a few moments he walked back into the main room and sat down in the centre while staring at the mark on his hand.

He knew how such a contract worked. The theory went something along the lines of pulling creatures from various alternate dimensions, hence the signature in blood to bind the summoner, into this one with a burst of chakra that was regulated automatically by the various seals locked up inside of the scroll itself, or on someone's arm as the case may be. It was powerful and unknown. However it required specific sized bursts to pull through different creatures of various powers, otherwise you could end up with anything coming through, regardless of what you wanted to pull through.

So for someone who had never bothered to learn any chakra control or the like he was at a loss as to how he was going to be able to use this with any real efficiency giving that little bit on information.

He put his hand against the ground, still sitting with wet hair and no shirt, and pushed chakra into the seal while praying that he wouldn't summon something massive and end up destroying his apartment and every other home around it as well, along with probably killing himself and causing mass hysteria, as funny as that would be to see.

The lines erupted from the ground, forming a strange circle for a brief moment before they collapsed again and a sharp cracking noise echoed in his room. He looked up to see a woman looking down at him, surprise written all over her face as she looked around her.

"What the..." she trailed off while Naruto sighed and leant back on his hands while looking at her.

She was wearing a light brown tank top and red shorts that clung to her, more red and black fabric covered the lower half of her legs where they seemed to blend into black shoes very much like his own, completing it was a red, gold and black feather hat that hide her silver hair, save for the tips. Everything looked normal until he realised that she had a light brown tail to same colour as her top waving about slowly behind her even as her hat fell off and revealed the two ears perched on top of her head for the whole world to see, twitching and turning as she listened to the unfamiliar sounds that no doubt were engulfing her right now. Her skin was a light brown over taut muscles that twitched as she looked around.

She looked down at him with dark blue eyes like the depths of the ocean, mouth forming a faint line as he noticed three pale blue lines on each cheek, like his own fading whisker marks, though hers looked tattooed on. Most likely some kind of clan marking, or so he thought.

"Did you summon me?" she asked, her voice had a light timbre to it, coloured with a faint growling noise from her throat even as Naruto stood up and picked up her hat that had fallen to the floor in her confusion.

"Good morning to you as well" he said after glancing outside at the sun, handing the hat back to her as she took it, still glaring at him slightly

"Did you?" she asked and Naruto sighed as he pulled something out of one of his cabinets before walking back over to her

"I did" he confirmed as he took a bite of his cereal bar, offering one to her which she took with some relief

"Thank you" she said and he nodded

"No problem, I did...invite you here after all" he said after a brief pause, noticing that he didn't quite know what to say in this kind of situation

"Any real reason?" the woman asked and Naruto shrugged

"Kyubi told me to summon one of you guys soonish" he replied and she looked at him hard

"You are the container?" she asked and Naruto nodded

"Yeah, I got to talking with her a little while ago and she decided that it'd be a good idea to lend me this summoning seal" he told her while gesturing to the markings on his arm as the woman studied them before looking back up at him

"Well then, that's fair enough I suppose" she said while Naruto sat back down on the floor

"Make yourself at home if you want, I have some questions and I'm sure you don't want to be standing up there the whole time" he said and she nodded while sitting down in front of him, her tail swaying gentle from side to side as she watched him almost curiously

"First of all" Naruto began at length "what is the price I must pay for summoning you?" he asked and she blinked before tilting her head and smiling slightly

"Very observant of you Summoner-san. The price depends on who you summon, some just want to fight while others will desire something more...tangible from you like food or an action" she explained and Naruto nodded while keeping his eyes focused on her "there are quite a few of us, so you should be prepared for just about anything when you summon another one of us" she said and Naruto nodded

"Fair enough. Second question then, how are you divided up?" he asked her and her smile broadened slightly

"We have different classes, in essence, for example I'm part of a warrior caste while others may be part of the assassins or even simply regulated to relaying messages for you" she said while Naruto nodded and thought upon his next question for a little while before meeting her gaze again

"What trial must I pass in order to earn the right to summon you all?" he asked and she outright grinned

"Well as far as I'm concerned you can summon me whenever, and since Kyubi-sama has already chosen you, I'm certain many of the others will be willing as well, though some might be..."

"Stubborn" Naruto finished for her and she grinned again

"Precisely" she replied and Naruto sighed while rubbing his face before he suddenly found her head in his lap. He raised an eyebrow at her even as her ears twitched

"The price" she said and he chuckled softly to himself even as he began to rub her ears, feeling her nearly purr as he did so, feeling the fur like softness of her hair as he did so while she closed her eyes and apparently decided to just enjoy his ministrations.

"Are you alone here?" she then asked and Naruto looked down at her to see her eyes were still closed, though one of her hands was lightly scratching against the wooden floor

"Yep" he replied to her as she frowned slightly

"Isn't it lonely?" she asked and Naruto chuckled

"Sometimes, but by this point I would like to think that I have grown used to it" he replied and she nodded her head slightly.

"Anything else?" she then asked and Naruto thought for a moment, still rubbing at her ears before he replied

"What's the hierarchy like?" he asked

"Why?" she asked while looking up at him

"Because if I summon more than one of you I want to know that you won't just start fighting amongst yourselves" he told her and she nodded

"It's much like a pack, though on a much bigger scale in general. So if you're going to summon more than one you might need to threaten them to behave"

"With what?"

"Not summoning them again, many of us enjoy our lives anyway, but there are certain things that we miss out on when not coming to your world"

"I see. Well then in that case..."

He was cut off when a series of sharp knocks came from the door

"Friend?" the fox asked and Naruto nodded

"Something like that, I'll see you later then" he said and she smiled while standing up

"What's your name summoner?" she asked

"Uzumaki Naruto. And yours?"

"Nami, see you later"

Then she was gone with another sharp crack, distinctive of something being summoned without all the flashy and unnecessary smoke.

He stood up and crossed to his door while slipping on his jacket once again, brushing his hair back to something that resembled its normal shape, tying it back as he finally reached out and opened the door to find Tenten standing opposite him, looking slightly impatient.

"Good afternoon Tenten-san" Naruto greeted her and she smiled a bit

"Hello Naruto-san" she replied as he gestured for her to step in.

He heard her gasp as she walked into the place that he called home. He knew that she would find it at least slightly shocking, considering it was a better home for rats than a human at the moment, not that Naruto had ever cared enough to keep it tidy or clean. He knew where everything important was, and that was all that really mattered as far as he was concerned.

He sat down as Tenten began to look around the small space. She was most interested in the various items that were sitting on the two large shelves on the wall opposite to the windows. They were filled with various bits a pieces, ranging from needles and thread, to pieces of metal and steel clips. All arranged in a strange kind of order with those that he found most useful at the bottom and those of less importance at the top.

"It's an impressive collection" Tenten said and Naruto chuckled softly

"I thought you'd say something like that" he admitted and Tenten turned to him before sitting down on the floor in front of him

"So..." she began, fidgeting slightly as the silence began to stretch before Naruto laughed quietly and stood up.

"Something to drink?" he asked and she nodded although he was no longer facing her as he pulled out a pair of cups and began to make some tea, setting the pot over the gas burner as he waited for the water to come to the boil.

"Don't you get many visitors?" Tenten then asked and Naruto glanced to her

"Judging by what you see here, do you think I do?" he asked her and she looked down, blushing slightly at his light reprimand of her question

"Sorry, but surely the Hokage or someone must come here" she said and Naruto knew that she was referring to the social carers that were supposed to ensure that nothing ever happened to any of the orphans, though Naruto thought it was more of a political thing to ensure the council didn't get any more ammunition to use against the Hokage and his advisors.

"I don't get visitors Tenten-san" he replied as he poured out the water into the two cups, gently stirring them before he walked back over to her and handed it to her.  
>"Thank you. But isn't that illegal?" she asked and Naruto shrugged<p>

"It depends, I'm seventeen at the moment so by law I can make the judgement about whether or not I want to be checked up on any more, I told them to go away and they haven't shown up since" he told her and she hummed as she sipped at her tea while he put his beside him and left it to cool while they spoke.

He didn't really care for tea, or coffee for that matter. They were either too bitter or too sweet, and with his speedy metabolism he certainly didn't think that a caffeine rush would do him any good.

"Don't you get lonely here then?" she asked and Naruto had to stop himself from laughing at the déjà vu he suddenly experienced

"Not really, human beings are adaptable creatures and I've long since learned to deal with it" he told her and she nodded, though he could see the sadness in her hazel eyes.

"Then what do you do all day?" she asked and Naruto shrugged

"It depends. Sometimes I train the whole day, other days I read, and on others I scavenge for clothes and food" he told her and she nodded

"So...you train to protect yourself?" she asked and Naruto nodded

"Pretty much, it also appears that you dislike those with little strength" he said and she looked away

"I just don't like them" she muttered and Naruto chuckled

"Hence the reason why, perhaps, you seem to spend a lot of time with Neji" he commented and her cheeks flushed a deep red that made him chuckled again

"If it was anyone else I'd think you were stalking me" she muttered and Naruto smiled slightly at her

"Well then, your reaction tells me that I hit the nail on the head, so to speak. The question is, why exactly are you aiming for something with a heart about as lively and warm as our resident Uchiha?" he asked and she looked at him for a moment before speaking

"Why do you care?" she asked while tilting her head, sounding genuinely curious about his reasons.

"Because for all my detachment I can and do give a damn about people if I want to" he told her and she nodded while looking down at the empty cup in her hands, fingers tracing the slightly cracked ceramics as she thought about her answer for a moment, Naruto taking the time to finish off his drink before it became too cold.

"He's not weak like many of the other boys that have asked me out over the years" she explained to him while he nodded and finished off the rest of his tea, putting the cup down in front of him as he leant back on his hands and watched her try to explain herself to someone that was essentially a stranger.

"He's...cool" she said while shrugging "he's had a tough life and yet has come through it all stronger for it" she told him and Naruto nodded while looking up to the windows on the ceiling and looking out at the clouds passing by above his head.

"Well then I think you may want to reconsider what you think about him" he told her and she looked at him as he stood up and crossed over to his 'kitchen' where he leant against the counter

"What'd you mean?" she asked and he looked at her seriously

"He treats he cousin Hinata with as much distain as the rest of the main branch family" he told her and she blinked

"Well form what he told me..." she started but Naruto held up a hand to silence her for a moment

"It's all well and good if that's what he told you then? He doesn't know anything at all" he said

"And you do?" she asked and Naruto shrugged

"I know very little about that night, less than him I suspect. But he is as ignorant and foolish as the rest of these villagers as far as I', concerned. The boy doesn't even consider the fact that Hinata suffers just as much, if not more, for her position in the main family" Naruto told her as a finger tapped the dirty countertop as his sharp blue eyes watched her closely as she fidgeted and tried to obviously make sense of what he was saying

"How do you know that?" she asked and Naruto hummed as he looked up at the sky again

"I know that because no one ever pays attention to me unless their being hateful. As such I overhear some rather interesting conversations a lot of the time, like her father telling her off for being weak when all she was, was unwilling to harm her little sister" Naruto explained and Tenten looked down at the ground

"I see" she said and Naruto hummed to himself

"I'm sure you do" he said as he sat back down in front of her

"Does she?" Tenten asked and Naruto shook his head

"She does not know that I know. I have seen her from time to time, watching me, but recently she has not been doing so. I think she failed to find exactly what it was that she was looking for, whatever it was" he told her and Tenten nodded.

"So...you think that I should give up on Neji then?" Tenten asked and Naruto shrugged noncommittally

"Up to you" he replied to her as he lay down and looked up

"So you don't care?" Tenten asked and Naruto looked at her questioningly

"Do I care about someone who I've known for less than twenty four hours? Not really" he told her and she looked away

"Thanks" she muttered sarcastically and Naruto shrugged

"Give it time, people like me don't make friends easily Tenten-san, the scars of betrayal run far too deeply for that not to be the case" he told her and she nodded

"I see" she said while looking closely at him "so what would I have to do to be your friend Naruto-san?" she asked and Naruto smiled slightly

"Loyalty is all I ask" he said and she smiled brightly at him

"Okay" she said and Naruto smile slightly again while turning his attention back to the skylight above him.

"Can I see you tomorrow?" Tenten then asked and Naruto looked at her

"If you wish" he told her and she smiled at him once again while standing in order to leave

"I need to go, I have work at the shop" she told him and he nodded while standing and taking her to the door, opening it for her as she stepped out

"Thanks for talking to me Naruto-san" she said and Naruto waved her off

"Think nothing of it" he said and she nodded half-bowing to him as she ran off to her work.

He sighed as he turned around from the closed door, resting his back on the hard wood as he rubbed his face with his hand before shaking himself slightly and walking into his room.

The light was beginning to shift to a pale orange as the sun began to set, and it wouldn't be long before he would see the pale silver light of the moon, casting a chilling glow on everything and everyone around him. But for now the light began its slow shift from white through to orange and yellow while the sky slowly transformed to adopt the new colours of the night.

He threw the cups into what passed for a sink and took a moment to compose himself before moving over to the door once again and stepping out into the quickly cooling air, the sun apparently taking its warmth with it as it disappeared below the false horizon of trees.

Naruto quickly made his way through the streets to his usual training area, unmindful of the growing chill in the air as he moved, finding it as empty as ever and without any civilians being out to try and disrupt him as he made his way there.

This time of evening he found to be the most peaceful, with all the daytime shops already closed and all their customers at home while the night time lot were just barely beginning to open their doors, so everyone was still getting ready for whatever occasion they were going out for, which left the streets oddly deserted and gave the impression that the town was little more than a ghost town, of course the lights streaming out of various windows disrupted that impression quite entirely.

He arrived at his usual place and sat on the ground in the centre of it. Looking at his arm he wondered about who would next come to him when he summoned them. The problem with having this as a civilian was that there was no way he was going to have access to any chakra control techniques, he didn't even go to the civilian academy for god's sake, so that meant that when he summoned it was like plugging a random number generator, he could never tell just what he was likely to get from summoning something. For all he knew he might get an absolute bitch and be unable to summon anything else from that particular caste of their hierarchy.

Still, he put his hand against the ground and pushed as much chakra as he could manage into the seal on his arm. He felt a small tug and then a sharp crack resounded and a woman was sitting in front of him.

She was dressed in a fairly tight black shirt that had leather plates attached, it had no arms but she was wearing gauntlets that came up to midway along her forearm while her trousers were much the same. A sword sat on her back and she had night black hair done up into a ponytail, clearly showing her ears and tail, both slimmer than Nami's.

She opened her eyes to reveal two orbs of pure gold, glowing with an inner power as she regarded Naruto carefully, his hand still pressed to the ground, a small amount of blood imprinted upon the ground as he pulled his hand away, regarding her carefully as he watched her watch him.

"Greetings Naruto-san" she eventually said, bowing her head slightly as Naruto sat up straight

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage" he admitted and she nodded

"I guessed as much, my name is Kuro" she said and Naruto blinked at the slightly odd name

"A pleasure" he said while bowing his own head to her before she stood up

"Are you ready?" she asked and Naruto blinked before sighing and standing up.

Training day in and day out for the better part of a decade had made him quite formidable, even for a trained ninja, especially if they let him get within range. He had had no one to teach him the ins and outs of combat, but living on the streets, essentially, had lent him many of the skills that he needed in order to train himself to be an efficient fighting machine. The lack of chakra had never held him back before, since there were always ways around such limitations.

He stood in front of her and shook himself out, cracking his neck before taking up a stance, hands lifted slightly in front of him as Kuro also took up a stance in front of him

"I will not go easy on you" she said and Naruto regarded her levelly even as he suddenly pushed forwards, much to her apparent surprise, though she regained her footing fairly quickly as he attacked her suddenly.

She lashed out with her hands and Naruto dodged, deflecting her strikes as he analysed her style and shifted to counter it with his own, deflecting her attacks as he tried to move in close even as she seemed to flow around his own strike, constantly attempting to get behind him to cripple him. He shifted as she turned and managed to catch her arm, twisting it sharply, forcing her to twist closer so that he managed to land several solid blows on her before she twisted herself free and withdrew slightly, watching him carefully, before attacking again.

Naruto dodged the first barrage of blows and lashed out with a few of his own until they were moving in synch, like a violent dance as the sounds of bone hitting flesh resounded throughout the clearing while their feet stirred up the dust as they quickly shifted to keep their own advantages.

Suddenly she pulled out her blade and slashed down at him. Naruto twisted to one side before catching her arm and forcing it even further down as he swept her legs out from under her while delivering a sharp punch to her kidney that caused her to roll away, coughing slightly as she tried to stand. Naruto was already upon her though. She barely had time to raise her blade back up before Naruto was attacking, knocking the blade arm aside as she tried to swing across only for him to duck and move inside of her space, punching her in the stomach as he moved behind her and forced her to the ground as she doubled over in pain, locking both her arms behind her as he took her blade and placed it to the back of her neck.

She stopped struggling after a moment and the two of them remained perfectly still, both slightly out of breath form the difficult fight.

"Very well" she said and Naruto stabbed the sword into the ground as he got off of her and pulled her to her feet before brushing himself down.

"I take it that I pass?" he asked and she nodded

"You'll be able to summon us" she said and Naruto nodded before looking at her

"What about the payment?" he asked and she looked at him before smiling slightly at twitching her ears which made him raise an eyebrow as he sat on the ground and she put her head in his lap

"Are all of you like this?" he asked and she smiled up at him

"Some of us, the stronger ones just want to fight, though others want things like clothes and the like" she explained and Naruto sighed

"Well thanks for the heads up" he said as he continued rubbing her ears, listening to her growl lowly in satisfaction even as he turned his eyes skywards to see the moon taking its place in the sky.

He closed his eyes and sighed to himself, wondering just what no lay beyond this.

_**The End**_

**A new idea that's been kicking around my head for a while, please tell me what you think.**

**Another new idea may be being posted soon and for those wondering about Dog and Fox I will do chapter 12 and then overall the entire thing while Spirit Master goes on a little break.**

**That's all people, thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The pipes glow faintly, casting faded light on the two figures in the darkened corridor. One sits in the water while the other kneels opposite behind golden bars of a cage, it is silent but no longer is it as though the living have ceased coming here; because he is here, and he brings life to the darkness and stirs the silence so that it no longer stagnates.

Pure force of will was what was needed in order to change that particular feature. Anything else would be extremely difficult to change; this is the personification of the deepest part of his mind after all, barely a step up from the bestial aspect.

The woman in the cage has on her usual blue kimono and has a small smile that never seems to quite leave her face when he arrives here. The past year has been, in a way, kind to the both of them.

"So, she really cleaned it all?" she asked Naruto who chuckled in his usual manner

"Yeah, I don't think she really believed me when I said she wouldn't be able to hit me" he said and Kyubi smiled

"What about other bets then?" she asked, leaning forwards slightly while Naruto smiles

"She won't take on any more bets, ever one she's taken has ended up with her losing to me" he said and Kyubi giggled slightly.

It is an odd sound for such a terrifying being to make. A nine-tailed demon, master of all others, a destroyer above all else, so it is a strange sound by its very nature. But stranger still is the fact that a little over six months ago she would never has giggled, let alone smiled.

She was still weighed down by guilt, Naruto was well aware of that fact, so he tried to convince her to let it go. Her guilt was not, in part, over the many people who had died, most had been simply doing their jobs, but in the treatment her actions resulted in for him. He was punished for her sins and she tried to atone for that, as far as he was concerned she had managed that ages ago, but she had refused to believe him, until one day it finally sunk in and she accepted it, letting go of the burden that she had been forcing herself to carry.

Since then the atmosphere of her prison had shifted, a reflection of her own inner feelings of guilt and self-loathing.

"How is the academy?" Kyubi then asked as though it was natural.

Naruto smiled "she's doing fine" he replied "finally got over her infatuation with Neji after she looked past the outside and saw what he really was" he told her and she nodded

"I'm glad" she said as though truly relieved

Naruto often did this now; at least once a week he entered this place and spoke to Kyubi about inconsequential things from Tenten to the weather outside of this prison. He understood how she must have felt, being trapped in a place that is not even real. A fake prison built in part of his soul and linked to the jailor by a seal that carries a god's approval. Such a thing is not easily circumnavigated or avoided. So he spoke to her to help.

"I'm sure she'd be shocked if she heard that" Naruto told her lightly and she giggled again

"I don't doubt it" she admitted before looking at his tattooed arm "are they behaving themselves?" she asked and Naruto sighed

"Some of them are no problem whatsoever, but others are less than thrilled of having a summoner that doesn't seem to ever get into battles" he said with a slight frown.

He had been summoning various foxes throughout the entire year, trying to get to grips with the various classes and groups that made up their society. Already he had been forced to declare that several of them would never be summoned by him again, a necessary evil to show that he was serious and willing to do whatever it took to control them. That had earned him quite a bit of respect from them.

So for now the problems were repressed, but eventually he'd summon a few of them that wouldn't be able to get along at all. That would be the start of it, but he shook his head slightly and sighed.

"You're not a ninja, so they can't expect much" Kyubi commented and Naruto hummed to himself

"True enough, though I get the feeling those word will come back to bite me" he muttered and Kyubi smirked

"Probably" she said and Naruto frowned a bit, sometimes he found himself having to be reminded that Kyubi really was the nine-tailed beast that killed hundreds of people and nearly caused unparalleled destruction to Konoha as a whole.

It made him uncomfortable, slightly, but he still carried on with this weekly ritual. Partly out of a sense of duty, and partly because he actually did like her and believe she felt at least some remorse for the many people she had killed. He instinctively knew that someone like her would not have attacked Konoha without a good reason, though he had yet to learn that reason from her he was more than certain that he would eventually get the story out of her.

"Does the Hokage suspect anything?" Kyubi then asked, sounding more serious than he expected.

Naruto lowered his head slightly and the coldness of his eyes went up a notch

"He does not" he said after a moments silence "he still thinks I'm the same as always, the only difference is that he now has someone watching me all the time" he admitted and Kyubi frowned slightly

"Really?" she asked and Naruto nodded

"Yeah, soon someone else will approach me as an agent to psychoanalysis me, they want to know if I'm loyal to them" he said and Kyubi nodded in comprehension.

He had expected this from the word go. Even as the container of the Kyubi he was still technically a civilian and so it was a lot of red tape to get surveillance on him, let alone someone to analysis his mentality. Luckily it meant that so long as he was careful and got the person to feed false reports the likelihood of this being continued was extremely small. Even the Hokage would not be able to keep this up for long if that was the case, Anbu were not cheap to hire after all.

"I think..." Kyubi said and then stopped as Naruto felt something familiar ripple through him.

He sighed and stood up

"It looks like Tenten's here already. I'll see you in a little while Kyubi" he said and she nodded as he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to escape this sewer and rise back up into his body.

The sunlight was warm on his face. His apartment was as untidy as ever, with bit and pieces lying all over the floor and the like, half-fixed things and half finished books lying everywhere. He opened his eyes and looked around, realising that it was already past seven in the morning he groaned and stood up shakily from his position against his wall.

He had fallen asleep reading a book related to some fighting techniques coupled with human anatomy. He had little more to do with his days than to read and learn whatever he wanted to. It irked Tenten slightly that he was always ahead of her in the academy in terms of knowledge, not that he ever went, but she liked to try and boast. A secret pleasure of his was to shoot her down and what she would try to better him at next.

He stretched and rubbed his face, feeling the stubble that was growing there, causing him to frown slightly and wonder if it was worth him shaving for a moment. Sighing as he heard another knock on the door he moved over lazily.

Ever since she had first spoken to him Tenten had been coming around his house whenever she seemed to have free time. Not that it bothered him in the slightest, he was human after all, and he appreciated the company she tried to provide him with. She was actually around so often that she even had her own toothbrush, not that he really knew why; it wasn't like she slept around that often, likely because people would talk if she started doing that.

Naruto moved over to the door and snapped several of the locks as he yawned before pulling it open and letting her in, not even glancing as he walked over to the kitchen and got something simple to eat before sitting down in his usual spot against and watching as Tenten closed the door and walked over to look down at him where he was sitting. He looked up and sighed before finish his bar and looking back up at her while wincing slightly from the glare coming in through the windows.

"Good morning" he groaned and Tenten huffed

"You never change" she muttered and Naruto chuckled softly as always

"Neither do you. How's Neji?" he teased and Tenten growled rather than blushing, just as he anticipated

"You know I gave up on him" she said as she began to gather up the stuff on the floor and sort it on the shelf where it belonged

"Fair enough, after four months of warnings" he said and she blushed

"I already apologised" she muttered and Naruto laughed

"I'm not asking for an apology" he said as he watched her move around the room "I'm asking you to be safe" he said and she blushed again.

Over the course of the year quite a few things had changed between them. Tenten accepted, after some gentle nudging, that she didn't quite know everything about and Neji and eventually stopped pining after him when she found out that what Naruto had said had been quite true. She had become a common fixture in his house and had taken to studying more techniques than just her usual ones after he advised her.

"How's training?" he then asked and she looked at him

"It's fine" she sighed as she sat down in front of him and leaning back, mimicking him in her usual fashion

"Which means you're stuck" he said with a sigh

"...I am" she admitted after a minute. They had had this conversation too many times before for her to pretend it was any different than usual

"I don't get why you won't just ask me" he admitted as he watched her with folded legs and back against the wall

"Because you're not a ninja" she said and Naruto chuckled

"Fair enough I suppose, who knows what it would do to your reputation if this got out" he said with a teasing smile, small though it was

"This place is a mess as always" Tenten then remarks and Naruto smiles at her attempt to change the subject but goes with it, she won't fight with him, the last time she tried to she got stuck with washing up for a week after he beat her. Though a close-combat user fighting a long range user wasn't exactly a fair match, especially given Tenten's dislike of hand-to-hand combat.

"You can clean it then" Naruto said and Tenten huffed

"I won't"

"If you make another bet like that with me then you definitely will" he said with a smirk and she growled softly

"That was unfair" she grumbled and Naruto laughed

"I told you and you didn't believe me as usual" he said and she turned her head while folding her arms, obviously sulking childishly.

"Well, any normal civilian would've been killed" she muttered and Naruto smiled easily

"When have I ever been normal?" he asked her and she shook her head slightly as he chuckled

"Well then, I guess you have academy today again" he said and she nodded, looking annoyed at the whole prospect

"I think it's pointless" she admitted and Naruto raised an eyebrow at her

"Is that because I've been helping you train?" he asked and she nodded while he smiled again

"I just don't think what they teach you is of any use" she admitted and Naruto nodded

"Well as much as that is the case, you still have to pass the written exam" he told her and she pouted again, looking displeased once again while he just chuckled and lay back down on his floor, the light from the windows hitting his face dead on

"Did you stay up late again?" she asked and Naruto looked at her

"Maybe" he replied with a small smile and she rolled her eyes

"You need to take better care of yourself" she told him sternly as he scoffed lightly

"Yes Imouto" he replied and stifled a laugh as she blushed furiously

"Don't call be that" she muttered without any real force which just made Naruto smile even wider

"Well whatever, you need to get going soon" he told her and she looked sternly at him

"I mean it" she told him and he sighed and nodded

"Okay" he told her and she smiled lightly before climbing to her feet

"I'll see you tonight then Onii-chan" she said as she walked over to the door before stopping and turning to regard him while tapping her foot impatiently.

Naruto chuckled and stood up and moved over to her, hugging her tightly to himself before stepping back and kissing her cheek

"See you later" he said and she nodded with a faint blush as she opened to door and walked out into the morning light.

Naruto stretched and decided to get some more training done before heading to the market to get his weekly rations. The year that had just passed had been a difficult one, with many changes occurring, and not just between him and Tenten. The summons had all pretty much accepted him as their summoner, although some couldn't stand having a summoner weaker than them, the mere mention of Kyubi's name silenced their dissension quickly enough so that it hadn't yet become a problem. He had also run into some problems with the prices for summoning the various foxes. The younger ones might want candy or something, the more powerful ones wanted alcohol or just someone to rub their ears, as strange as it sounded.

It was the oldest ones that he had trouble with. Their desired blood spilled in order to be summoned, either that or something expensive. Naruto had refused to summon them for over eight months before finally being forced to do it by Kyubi's constant nagging in the back of his head. That first meeting had gone better than he had expected but still was not exactly brilliant.

He had regular summons but had one peculiar handicap. The head summon, namely Kyubi, was trapped within her seal and could not step out of it in order to be summoned, not that he had tried that out yet. It was always possible that another had taken her place, as much as that would piss her off, and that would be who he summoned, and given his experiences with the older foxes he wasn't looking forwards to doing that. So he put it off until much later.

Aside from his summons and Tenten, only the Hokage had also changed. His paranoia was apparently increasing in terms of Naruto, and he had no wish to be imprisoned because of an old mans mistakes. However this did lead to Naruto only summoning within his own apartment, or deep in the forest if it was one of the more powerful ones, so it made his life slightly more difficult than it already was and also led to him becoming fairly paranoid about whoever he met around his apartment.

Given the fact that the same Anbu was always stationed to guard him Naruto had little doubt that the council was making it difficult for the Hokage to put any more resources into guarding him than one Anbu member.

He sighed while rubbing his face before grabbing some money and stuffing it into his pockets, flipping up his hood before he walked out of his crappy apartment and began the slow walk to the market, the early time meaning few people would be there save for the store owners themselves and some ninjas, hopefully. They usually sold to him, his money being as good as anyone else's.

He felt something shift behind him but didn't turn around. Tenten had taught him about the basics of sensing chakra and the like, in fair exchange for him helping her become much stronger than most of the people in her class, and so it was not too difficult for him to feel the presence following him. The Anbu obviously believing that he was a simple civilian without any sense at all for people following them. He would deal with them in due course.

It was a simple distraction that did little to disrupt his usual routine, given the fact that he was paranoid to a large extent anyway and did his training in secret and all. After all, a single Anbu cannot watch over a target all the time, at least as far as he was aware.

He moved into the market place around the Hokage tower. Already stalls were set up and various vendors were getting ready to sell their products to the population, a myriad of smells were beginning to fill the air with heady scents, from perfume to spices and incense. The smell of freshly baked bread came to him, causing his mouth to salivate at the thought of eating something decent for a change as he moved around the market like a ghost, same as usual. He quickly picked out what he needed and wanted and moved to get them quickly before the rest of the village moved out of their beds and saw him hanging around the vendors. It wouldn't do to anger some of the only people willing to sell to him after all.

He moved away with his bags filled and moved quickly back to his apartment. He froze not three metres form entering the building. He could feel someone following him other than the usual Anbu signature. Whoever it was had been following him since the market and he had little wish to lead said person to his apartment even if they did already know where he lived, paranoia did things like that to you. So he put his bags on the the steps and turned around to face his stalker for the moment.

It was a woman with untamed shoulder length night black hair and red eyes the colour of blood. A red mesh armour blouse with only the right sleeve visible and a very broad material that resembled bandages with a pattern on it similar to those of rose thorns along with having her hands and upper thighs wrapped in bandages filled the image along with her forehead protector and sandals completed the image.

"Kurenai Yuhi" he muttered to himself with a frown.

He knew well enough of Kurenai, as he did with all the other Jonin in Konoha. She was a master of illusions and the kind of person you would want to look after your children, caring in all the right ways with a simple and honest personality that led to many people liking her to various degrees. Naruto found it incredibly suspicious that she was following him of her own accord before he sighed and shook his head at realising who it was that she worked for.

"Are you okay Uzumaki-san?" she asked with concern lacing her voice, though the undertone spoke of only professionalism that made him smirk considering how bad of a lier she was with her simple personality

"Why are you following me?" he asked her

She frowned at him "I am not following you" she sand and Naruto fixed her with a withering glare that made her twitch slightly

"Don't lie to me" he told her "it is unbecoming of you" he said as he watched her

"How did you know?" she asked him and he shrugged

"Who knows? I've always been paranoid, especially when a loyal dog of the Hokage follows me home" he said, his tone distinctly more hostile than usual due to his suspicions of her intentions

"Can we not talk?" she asked, though it was clearly a struggle given how uncooperative Naruto was being with her

"No" he replied bluntly

"Why not?" she asked as he picked up his bags and walked into his apartment block with her following him

"Because you're here to psych analyse me and I haven't got time for it" he told her her bluntly as she frowned

"And what if this is genuine?" she asked and she turned to her sharply, eyes boring into hers and she stared her down for a few moments

"You hold the same dislike for me as the rest of the village, that it why" he told her and she looked startled before he walked into his apartment and closed the door on her surprised face.

He sighed as he put the goods on his counters and began to sort them out while trying no to be too concerned about the fact that the Hokage was now sending people to actually make contact with him. It was a new one and not a welcome thing to be sure, if he was any less suspicious or if she had approached without the hatred in her eyes he may have been more cooperative with her. But it was clear that she was simply acting on orders and not particularly enjoying the job, and because of that he denied her viciously, it was the best response as it didn't provide anything concrete except a dislike of Kurenai and the Hokage, which did not necessarily mean treason.

Anyway the council would be too busy trying to pamper the Uchiha to pay him any mind, even if they could prove him treasonous he was a civilian and therefore could only be tried under civilian laws even with his special 'condition'.

He sat down on his bed and sighed somewhat heavily before a knock on his door brought him back to the present. He walked over to the door and could feel Kurenai on the other side of the door, much to his chagrin. He opened it slightly, keeping the bolts in place as he faced her through the small opening, coming face to face with eyes that seemed apologetic.

"What?" he asked her coolly

"I wish to apologise" she said while bowing her head slightly. Once again Naruto felt that if it had been any other situation he may have been able to forgive her and get along, but she was here on a mission and so he was required to treat her as an enemy to him and his.

"And?" he replied levelly as she looked at him, clearly nervous and unused to dealing with someone who acted coldly to everything she did and was completely unwilling to cooperate with her on what, he presumed, was meant to be a fairly simple mission. She had clearly underestimated he ability to keep people at a distance. Only Tenten was an exception to that, and it had taken her a full year to get to that stage.

"I wish to speak with you" she repeated and Naruto frowned

"I made it clear that I do not wish to speak with you. You are here to assess whether or not I am still loyal to Konoha given my condition" he said and she nodded, clearly deciding that honesty might be the better policy here.

"That's true, but I also wish to talk to you anyway"

"Lier" he shot her down without a second thought, causing her to recoil almost as if struck

"If that was the case you would've approached me far earlier than this. As it is I cannot trust you anymore than the rest of the populace" he told her in no uncertain terms as she frowned at him

"I was mistaken" she said clearly and he looked at her

"Perhaps, but admitting that will not make me talk to you" he said and her frown deepened

"I was mistaken about you, cannot I not at least try to make amends?" she asked and he frowned deeply

"No" he told her while feeling his patience begin to fray sightly "you are no different to anyone else in this place, including those who beat me when I was younger" he told her and she looked shocked

"What?" she asked indignantly

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" he told her and she looked down while clenching her fists "I have nothing more to say, leave and go back to your master" he said and shut the door once again before hearing her trudge away, her slow footfalls at least proving that she was thinking about something deeply. He hoped it was what he had said and not about how to get him to talk to her again.

He had no wish to socialise with someone who was serving under him. When Tenten eventually did swear her oath he would have to be careful what he said around her, because as much as she was his little sister she was a servant of a man who disliked him and wished him leashed, and that could lead to her becoming an enemy as well if things went really badly, so he would have to be careful if only to never put her in a situation where she would have to choose between her duty and her family. Those that had to do that ended up dead one way or another, either through execution for treason or committing suicide for betraying someone who had trusted them.

He didn't want that to happen, ever. As her older brother he was responsible for that at the very least.

He frowned as a thought occurred to him and he quickly placed his hands on his floor and pushed chakra into his tattoo on his left arm. He felt the familiar pull followed by a sharp crack that failed to escape the thick walls of the room.

Standing before him was one of the summons that had become familiar to him. A dark skinned girl with taught muscles and dark blonde hair and deep blue eyes the same colour as his own. She stood before him in a strange outfit of white and black leggings and a white top that also served to cover her lower body with black seams and some frills. Her dark blonde, nearly brown, tail swayed slightly as her ears focused on the sounds around them before she spoke to him

"Good morning Naruto-san" she greeted him with a small bow that seemed energetic despite the politeness of it.

Naruto smiled fondly "good morning Robin" he greeted her and she grinned at him

"So what're we doing today?" she asked with shining eyes that made him chuckle

"I can't play" he said and she pouted, tail dropping immediately as she watched him

"That's no fun" she muttered and he smiled at her

"I'm sorry, I need you to follow someone instead" he said and she suddenly perked up

"Like hide and seek?" she asked and he stifled a laugh at her childish eagerness

"Yes, except you need to not be seen while following her" he told her and she nodded

"I can do that" she told him proudly and he nodded

"That's why I summoned you" he said and she nodded, looking quite proud of that fact as he smiled

"Well now, I need you to follow a woman called Kurenai Yuhi, she has red eyes and untamed black hair" he told her and she nodded while listening intently to him "also she was here only a few moments ago" he said and she sniffed, frowning slightly before lighting up and going to run out before he stopped her by catching her top

"Change first" he told her

"Oh yeah" she said absently, suddenly shifting into a fox form, that look almost like a cat, he looked at her, still held in his hand

"I need you to tell me who she meets and all that, then come back to me, I'll have your reward" he told her before putting her back down on the ground and watching as she ran off without a moments hesitation.

He shook his head as he sat back down and pulled out one of the books Tenten had put away. He found it odd that foxes were so good at shape shifting, as they called it, but he guessed it had something to do with the fact that their human forms were not meant to be their natural ones, they apparently just found things easier when like that, with the opposable thumbs and all.

Their talent for illusions and the like made them skilled in anything they really wanted to be as they could be used just about anywhere. Most illusions could be broken by a human but those of the higher ranks could weave complex illusions with up to a dozen separate illusions all working in tandem against their target. The reason their human form was actually real and not simply an illusion was due to the complex nature of energy and mass coupled with certain laws of physics in their part of the universe that were subtly different from the one Naruto was in. Simply put the energy was transferred into mass and molded in such as way as to create a new DNA that formed the basis of the body.

Far from simply being remote controlled bodies when something was summoned it was really brought forth. So if a summon died then they really did die, hence why many disappeared when they were dealt a mortal blow, or simply too much damage, however this was also to do with the chakra they had which forms a link into the 'real' world and when too much chakra is used, similar to a human fainting, the body disappears.

At least that was what he had been told, whether or not it was true or not was another matter entirely, after all, one does not need to know how to build a katana in order to be able to wield one with some proficiency.

He shook his head and decided to get ready for when Tenten arrived back at his place as she always did.

Later that day the light was beginning to fade from the sky, taking the warmth with it as slowly the daylight began its transition into night. Already the noises of the town had tapered off and the sky had turned a light indigo with a fiery glow on its horizon where the sun was slowly sinking and surrendering to the night. No stars had emerged yet but soon they would join the moon in the sky and take the last of the days warmth with them.

Naruto was sat in his living room with half a dozen books scattered around him and bits of paper everywhere with scrawled notes and diagrams written haphazardly upon them. He was only wearing his trousers and was watching the notes with a vacant expression as he awaited Tenten's return from both the academy and her job that she had had for as long as he had known her. Working all the time in a weapons shop was certainly one way to become proficient with just about every type of weapon there was in the ninja world. Meanwhile he was stuck with his book and a nagging feeling that Robin should have come back hours ago from following Kurenai, though given her personality she would continue to follow the woman until she finally went home. That would teach him not to give such vague orders to someone like that again.

The curtains were all drawn so the only light was from the windows on his roof that poured light into his room from the gradually darkening sky. He sighed and rubbed his face before quickly packing everything away on his shelves and sitting down once again and closing his eyes, enjoying a brief break from training before a knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.

"Come in" he called out and the door opened to reveal Tenten looking rather exhausted.

She had learned early on to knock, since half the time the door was locked and other times he would simply throw kunai at whoever stepped through without announcing themselves first, a problem with his paranoia as ever, so that she learned to announce herself first even if she knew he was expecting her, as he often was nowadays.

"Hey Naruto-kun" she called out and he chuckled as he watched her put a bag in front of him, clearly filled with food as she took a seat opposite him

"Anything fun happen?" he asked her as always and she shook her head as he rifled through the bag in front of him, humming in appreciation as he looked at the feast laid out before him

"No" she then replied "it was the same as always" she said and he nodded, having expected that response as always

"Well I ran into one of the Jonin" he told her and she looked at him with a tilted head

"Why?" she asked and he looked up at her

"She wanted to analyse me" he told her and she nodded with a slight frown, clearly not enjoying the thought of someone trying to screw over her adoptive older brother in some fashion

"For the council?" she asked and he shook his head

"The Hokage, he's become even more paranoid lately" he told her and she just nodded, accepting what he said without comment. The last time she had said anything to do with the Hokage she had refused to speak to him for all of two days before crawling back admitting she was wrong, though that could just be his view of things. But after that she ahd made sure to steer clear of any discussions of that nature, not that he ever brought them up if it could helped at all.

"Who was it?" she then asked and he smiled slightly

"Kurenai" he said and she looked at him suddenly

"Really?" she asked somewhat excitedly and he nodded

"Yeah, I told her to leave" he said and she nodded

"Yeah, you nearly did that to me a few times in the beginning" she muttered and Naruto grunted slightly, knowing full well how true it was.

He had a habit of keeping people at arms length and brushing them off when they tried to get close to him, not because he didn't care for people, but because he could not afford to care, such a thing was a luxury he could not afford with his lifestyle. That was where he and Sasuke differed, Sasuke hated the world because he believed he had the right to and therefore violently kept people away from himself. Naruto treated people with an aloofness that subtly pushed them away since anyone he had contact with could, in theory, be used against him in some way, even if that was just his paranoia talking.

"Are you here for long?" he asked her and she shook her head

"I need to sleep for tomorrow" she said and he nodded his head in understanding, knowing full well that the Genin exams were coming up within the next week or so.  
>"I'll see you tomorrow morning" he said with a wave of his hand as she walked out of his apartment

Not a second later a familiar shape slipped in before the door could fully close and suddenly Robin was sitting in front of him in human form. He blinked before shaking his head slightly

"You didn't have to follow her until she went to bed" he told the girl who grinned at him

"But it was fun" she said and Naruto just shook his head without bothering to try and correct her, knowing what her excuse would be

"Fine then" he replied after a moments silence "what did you find?" he asked "and please only tell me the important things" he said and she tilted her head, obviously thinking for a moment before she spoke

"She spoke with a women dressed in a trench coat and with purple hair, she smelt of snakes" Robin said while wrinkling her nose at the mention of snakes

"Anko" Naruto muttered with a slight frown "she called in help" he said to himself and Robin watched him

"Also she met with a man called Asuma" she told him and he raised an eyebrow, filing that piece of information away for later "and she seems to like sake" she finished and Naruto sighed while leaning back on his hands and closing his eyes as he tried to figure out what to do about all this. He realised Robin was still waiting for her reward and he pulled out some packs of pokey, throwing them to her as he caught them gleefully and disappeared without asking permission, not that it bothered him, at least she was manageable unlike a few of the others he had had the misfortune of summoning over the past year or so.

He decided enough was enough for the moment so he crawled into bed and collapsed on the covers, while praying that the following days wouldn't be the death of him one way or another.

The next day was bright and warm. Naruto struggled to get out of bed before Tenten arrived, but he managed it if only to avoid a reprimand from Tenten about how lazy he apparently was, which was interesting coming from a girl who, six months ago, had never done anything of the sort to him. Not that he minded it at all, it only reinforced the idea that the two of them were almost like family to one another. However today he knew that one way or another he was going to end up meeting Anko and possibly Kurenai as well, and that idea did not sit well with him at all.

He walked to his training ground, enjoying the quiet early morning air, the heat beginning to already build as the sun climbed higher and higher into the slowly brightening vault of the sky. The slight breeze stirred the leaves and made dust dance around him as he moved with his face cloaked in shadow form his hood, feeling the warmth of the golden sunlight striking his skin even with the night chilled air waking him up abruptly from his haziness.

He arrived at his usual training ground in order to conduct his usual routine, something that had left Tenten speechless the last time she had seen it in its full glory, it being something close to what the Jonin Gai would do in terms of pushing the human body to its physical limits. However something was different this time and that set him on edge slightly, despite already knowing what he was likely to find waiting for him.

"Anko Mitarashi" he muttered when he saw who it was that had put him on edge

"Good morning Naruto-kun" she called out and Naruto felt himself frown as his usual coolness took over and regarded her carefully

"I take it your here because of Yuhi-san?" her asked and she looked a bit surprised

"You know about that?" she asked and he nodded slightly

"It wasn't hard to figure out, after all, if someone as nice as Yuhi cannot get me to open up, then the next step is someone similar to me" he told her and she raised an eyebrow

"For a civ your pretty smart" she said while Naruto kept silent as she dropped out of the tree and landed on a fallen log, motioning for him to come over and frowning when he took a seat as far from her as possible

"I don't bite…much" she said with a frown before grinning at the end even as Naruto sighed and leant forwards with his arms on his knees

"What do you want?" he asked her levelly and she looked at him

"To talk" she responded and he sighed again

"Yuhi-san said the same thing" he told her and she nodded

"She told me"

"I see"

"She wants to apologise to you"

Naruto glanced at her "for what?"

"For hating you wrongly"

"It's a bit too late for that"

"That Tenten girl did it"

"After a year of work, along with the fact that she was younger than me"

"Oh, a younger sister complex"

"Don't insult me or mine. The point is that you will get nowhere with me"

"Then we'll have to tell Hokage-sama"

"Do so then, he can't touch me"

"You are smart"

"So Yuhi-san wants to apologise to me for not being there huh?"

"Something like that"

"In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed"

"What was that?" Anko asked and Naruto chuckled softly

"An old poem for people like you and me" he said and she nodded

"I see" she muttered, apparently realising the meaning behind the verse

"We might be similar in some respects Mitarashi-san, but we are distinctly different in others" he told her before he looked at her properly "you serve a man I do not care for, for example" he said and she looked at him hard

"You hate him" she said and he shook his head

"I said that I do not care for him, that is not the same thing. Betrayal has a funny way of doing that doesn't it?" he said and she stiffened slightly but relaxed when Naruto didn't follow it up with anything

"You're certainly not what I expected from what Kurenai told me" she admitted and Naruto chuckled softly

"Me and you are a rare breed Mitarashi-san, I am happy to talk, but knowing that you are here merely to analyse me makes me less than willing to cooperate" he said and she nodded her head in understanding

"What about later then?" she asked and Naruto shrugged

"It's up to you" he said as he stood up and began to move away before turning to face her

"Tell Yuhi-san that she'll have an uphill struggle gaining my trust in any shape or form. I'll see you later" he said before walking off.

He walked off back to his apartment. Walking in he sat down by the wall and sighed softly while leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He decided to catch up on his sleep before Tenten returned once again. It wouldn't do to fall asleep while listening to her after all.

Later that night he was sitting in his room with the curtains drawn and his jacket off. His breathing was slow and rhythmic as he meditated after Tenten had left the apartment the same time as always to get some sleep for the following day, not fancying the idea of failing her test purely because of sleep deprivation. So he was left alone to his own devices for a little while, well, it was him and the presence sitting outside of his window at least.

He had tried to catch it out or find out who exactly it was but the Anbu certainly lived up the their reputation and he was unable to get anything on the person regularly following him and watching his every move. The fact that it was still here after dark meant that it was waiting for him to retire to bed so it could leave, no doubt thanks to the Hokage's paranoia causing him to change the orders once again. He nearly pitied the presence but shook it off when he forced himself to remember that it was a loyal servant of the Hokage an had only itself to blame for any difficulties it was going through right now.

"You can come in if you want" he called out into the still night air, noticing that the presence didn't even so much as twitch at his words, no doubt believing him to simply be displaying some form of madness, not that it would be the first time.

He looked straight at the window to where he was certain the person was sitting and sighed when there was still no change. So instead he made two cups of green tea and sat them facing each other as he drank his own cup and waited for the shadow to move and take up his offer.

"I won't tell him if you won't" he said and the presence finally appeared to shift and appear in front of him, crouched and tense like an animal expecting to be attacked at any moment.

"How?" it asked harshly as Naruto calmly sipped his tea

He sighed "I detected you a little while ago" he said and the form glared

"How?" it asked once again and he frowned

"I can detect chakra" he told it and it seemed to shift for a moment before kneeling in front of him and taking the offered cup and sipping at the tea through the mask, no doubt a specialised material designed for such things.

"Who trained you?" it then asked

"My friend" he said and it nodded, shifting into the moonlight a little more so that he could clearly see that the shape was female

"How long have you known?" she asked and Naruto shrugged slightly

"A little over a month now" he said and she tilted her head slightly

"So I've been deceived" she said and he shook his head slightly

"I carried on because I didn't believe you would respond if I called you out" he said and she looked at him hard

"Why would you want to call me out?" she asked suspiciously

"Because I don't wish you ill, Anbu-san, instead I wished to talk with someone without prejudice" he told her and she nodded slowly after a slight pause

"So you let me follow you" she muttered and Naruto nodded.

It was a white lie, but also held an element of truth to it. He wished to talk to someone like her as he knew that she would most likely be without too much hatred due to her following him and measuring his relationship an interactions with Tenten and the other people he had met over the course of the last month or so. The desire was born out of his isolation, he was well aware of that, he could easily survive isolation to an extent but having human interactions kept him level and sane, in that respect he was similar to the Anbu sitting in front of him. She was isolated from her peers and had her own share of darkness, more than likely, and that made her someone he believed he could get along with.

"This is good" she said after a few moments of silence and he smiled slightly

"Tenten buys it for me, she thinks I need at least something thats good for me" he said and she looked at him

"You really like her" she said as though it was surprising and he chuckled softly

"She's like a little sister to me" he admitted and the Anbu nodded slowly "but why the surprise?" he then asked and she shifted slightly

"I had believed you were simply using her" she said, sounding slightly uncomfortable and Naruto nodded in acceptance

"I see" he said and she sighed softly

"I apologise, but after seeing you with Anko-sempai and Yuhi-san, along with your reactions to other villagers, it matched your psyche profile" she said and he nodded

"But did you not think that I was simply uncooperative with them because they were on a mission" he said and she nodded

"It crossed my mind, but I had to take the worst case scenario" she said and he nodded again

"I can understand that at least" he told her and she sighed

"Though I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm Neko" she said and Naruto chuckled softly

"Well Neko-san, I hope we can get along" he said softly and she appeared surprised again

"Why?" she muttered and he sighed while leaning back on his hands

"Because I'm human" he told her and she seemed a bit taken aback but nodded all the same

"We are similar then" she said and Naruto nodded

"I desire companionship as much as the next person" he told her seriously "but that does not mean I will simply pick anyone. And besides you and I will have a rather strange relationship I think" he said

"How so?"

"You'll wear a mask and refuse to tell me your real name while I'll refuse to divulge anything that could be used against me. Friends in only name" he said and she nodded slowly

"Well…" she muttered

"Well maybe someday I'll trust you enough to stop caring about such things, and then maybe you can tell me who you are" he finished before she could speak and she nodded slowly once again

"You are…not what I expected" she said and he laughed

"I've been getting that a lot" he said as he stood

"Thank you for the tea Uzumaki-san, I'll leave you to sleep" she said and vanished without another word as he sighed and put the cups in the sink before climbing into his bed and frowning as thoughts of the following day overtook him.

Naruto stood in amongst the crowd of people like a ghost dressed in black. The sun was hot as usual and he was less than pleased at the looks he was being given by the various parents and villagers around him, though none of them made a move to try and get rid of him, they had learned that was a bad idea years ago, which he was thankful for.

He was standing outside of the academy. Four walls in a rectangle and lots of dusty ground and forest around it, it was perfect for training up the next generation of killers physically, if not psychologically, much to his annoyance. He only hoped that his words had gotten through to Tenten enough so that when she did finally kill her first enemy she didn't simply crumble and break down like so many others had a habit of doing.

She was the reason he was standing out in amongst people he would rather avoid. Dust was sticking to he coat as it was swirled around by the soft breeze, the sound of rustling leaves filled the area that was mostly silent with faint anticipation for the students in the graduating class inside of the academy. He stood with his arms folded and head down, looking every part like a pissed off avenger looking for a fight, which easily kept people a safe distance away from him while he waited for is adoptive sister to emerge and, hopefully, tell him that she had passed, not that she knew he was waiting for her outside of the academy. A pleasant surprise after his small party for his birthday, something well thought out and enjoyable even with just the two of them. He had decided she was his little sister at that point and was fairly certain he had declared it at her, much to her embarrassment.

It was a few weeks after the meetings with various people. Kurenai had giving in her report, declaring him loyal and mentally stable, before then trying her best to try and get to know him, a difficult thing given how cold he was with people he didn't really know all that well. Meanwhile him and Anko got along like a house on fire despite their different personalities. Both knew of betrayal and had it hard in the village, so naturally they gravitated towards one another, even with him being somewhat stoic and far less energetic than her, the two complemented each other quite well with him curbing her enthusiasm while she forced him to go out more, something Tenten had been attempting for the better part of four or so months.

She had met Tenten only once, walking in during one of their 'brother sister moments' as she called them, she had then declared herself the big sister of the group, though Tenten often joked that Naruto was the older brother of them both, much to Anko's annoyance. Though Naruto had been more than willing to accept her, as had Tenten, if only because he understood Anko and knew how much having a family of any kind meant to people like them. Tenten simply went with it because she liked Anko and Naruto had gone along with it, the same as always.

Neko and him had been talking almost every night, apparently the Hokage didn't trust Kurenai too much and so was trying to get her to keep watch for longer, but pressure was mounting for him to move her on to more important matters. Not that she apparently minded talking to Naruto. While neither of them had altered their relationship too much they had at least begun to feel more comfortable with one another, though Neko apparently enjoyed teasing Naruto with tidbits of information that could lead to her real identity, so he returned the favour by dancing around things he did in his day time that she wasn't privy to. None of the others knew about her as far as he knew and he was fine with that until Neko decided to tell him her real name.

He was brought out of his musings upon hearing sounds from the doorway. Children of the graduating class ran out, some looking depressed while others appeared rather ecstatic having, obviously, passed. However amongst them was a long girl looking around despondently while clutching onto her forehead protector. Naruto smiled and waited for her to notice him.

"Onii-chan" she gasped loudly before running to him as he opened his arms and hugged her tightly while chuckling as she laughed and held onto him tightly

"Well done Imouto" he said softly and she blushed furiously while grinned from ear to ear

The people around them stared but wisely said nothing when Naruto shot them all a look, instead they moved further away from the two of them as he waited for Tenten to get her bearings back

"I did it" she declared proudly and he kissed her forehead

"Well done" he repeated and she looked down suddenly, obviously embarrassed upon realising the scene they were making but Naruto could care less about that

"So how well did you do?" he asked and she grinned

"Top in the class next to Neji" she said and he laughed

"I told you" he said while rubbing her head as she pouted

"Yeah yeah" she muttered "right as always Onii-chan" she said and he smiled at her

"Well then, why don't you get going and then head over to my apartment, there'll be something there for you" he said and she grinned before running off, not noticing the small sad smile on her older brothers face.

When she arrived at his apartment all she found was a note and a present along with a pen and paper. The note explained that he had left the village in order to travel, the paranoia of the Hokage was stifling him and he needed to escape for a time. She was less than pleased with him but the gift was just what she had wanted and the pen and paper made it obvious enough what he wanted her to do. It would take her over a week before she would finally write to him and tell the others what had happened. They all wrote to him as well while egarly awaiting news on where ever he was.

_**The End**_

**Hey people, sorry for the impossibly slow updates but I am still alive and kicking, more of this and Spirit Master will be uploaded shortly along with something for Dog and Fox (maybe).**

**Aside from that I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please Review if you like it or see something I need to improve. Cheers people.**


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